Mānuka Essentials is under new ownership
We have some exciting news to share...
Mānuka Essentials and Mānuka Sensations have been acquired by Benji and Katie Raumaewa, owners of the beekeeping company Hillside Honey Limited.
The handover will be completed this week, with new management taking over from next week onwards.
What does this mean for you, our customers?
- Same great products
- Same great service
- A fresh and proactive focus on bringing the brand to new people
Message from our founder
Our founder, Callum Armstrong, started the company as a way to generate demand for native plant extracts as a way to encourage the reforestation of New Zealand's rural land.
"I realized that the main reason why farmers and landowners weren't planting more native forests is that there was little financial incentive for them to do so. The extracts from native species like mānuka have a wide range of potential market uses, but they were largely unknown when I started Mānuka Essentials back in 2018.
So I went about changing that. We started selling pure mānuka oil and sharing the health and environmental benefits with anyone that would listen. Over the last five years, this has evolved into two brands, 16 consumer products, the idea for an environmental charity (The Reforestation Fund), and so much more.
What a journey it has been! Over the same period, I have built a content marketing business (Paste & Publish), opened and exited a physical retail store, and established The Reforestation Fund to continue our mission of reforestation, but in a charitable capacity.
With so many projects on the go, I realized that to bring meaningful environmental change, I needed to refine what I was doing and free up more time to grow The Reforestation Fund.
And unfortunately, that meant moving on from Mānuka Essentials by finding a buyer who is the right fit to take it to the next level. With that in mind, I'm excited to welcome Benji and Katie Raumaewa into the business.
To all our loyal customers and those who have helped along the way, I want to say a massive thank you for your support and patronage over the years."
So what's next from here?
- As Benji and Katie get stuck into running Mānuka Essentials and Sensations, you can expect to hear more from them - stay tuned for updates.
- Callum will be focusing on preparing The Reforestation Fund for launch, and coaching clients on content marketing at Paste & Publish.
- While we are going through the transition process over the next few weeks, the best contact email is benji@hillsidehoney.co.nz.
- - If you want to connect with Callum, you can get in touch at www.callum.nz.
Onwards and upwards, and here's to more reforestation!